Home Comming

Well I couldn't help but notice it has been one week since my last post and oh my goodness what a week it has been! This day last week I turned in my final homework assignments and later that day received my grades.......All A's! I was scared for a minute that it wouldn't turn out that way, but my professors were patient and gave me excellent advice to get my last weeks worth of homework to the level they were expecting.  Last Wednesday we spent the day relaxing and walking around the city of Genoa as a sort of goodbye to the city before everyone started leaving the villa.  That afternoon we get to the grocery and bought the fixin's for a summer cookout as a going away party for everyone.  as we were grilling and eating and feeling fat we looked up to two of the members of the group on the roof of the villa! one of the boys was assigned a key to the villa that never worked in the front door as it was supposed to and he had spent that last evening in the villa trying it in every door to find out which it would open and it in fact opened the door to the forbidden roof! So in true bulldog style we did the dog pound rock on the roof of the villa with a beautiful backdrop of Genoa in the evening sun.  As soon as i figure out how to add music to the video I will post it, which unfortunately may be never.  After the sun set I took a pretty good photo of the Genoa Lighthouse at night.

     I was alarmed because my flight home was not until Friday morning and the Wednesday with all of the above revelry was going to be the last night I was allowed to stay in the villa. so I starting looking into hostels and actually found a hotel for $50 a night, but at the moment I was about to book the hotel i received and impromptu invite to escape to Milan for a night and visit the summer home of southern artist Amos Kennedy of Gordo Alabama! My immediate answer was YES and i was left with 30 minutes to pack my two bags and big farewell to my classmates that hadn't yet left.  I stayed in a hostel for 20 euro and I have to say it was a pretty terrible night but the next day was completely worth it!  3 classmates and I made our very own books! sewed them and everything.  Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the final book, but I have pictures of the process for you to see.

Very soon after Amos dropped us off at the train station I was on my solo journey home.  After a quick and very comfy stay in my quaint little hotel in Genoa I was headed to the Christopher Columbus International Airport.  My first transfer was in Germany where I missed my flight which turned out to be a very good thing.  The extra time allowed my the time to have a beer in Germany before my flight....

but some confusion came when I arrived in New York at JFK when my next flight was out of Newark.  Thank goodness for a 6 hour layover!

The change in plans ended up getting me home over an hour earlier than I had been slated to!
And at the airport I had a warm welcome from Mama, Aunt Cheryl and my dear friend Lori! The night was spent in Nola then home to see the rest of the family, pets, and soon to follow was a visit from sweet David!

Th fourth of July was a very special day for me to have almost all of my family around me (just missing Jason and Katie) so I leave now for my haircut with the last few pictures on my camera.